This program aims to promote new and innovative medical devices/technologies within NSW that may have a global benefit.

The objectives of the program are to:
- Provide support to individuals, companies, public and private hospitals, medical research institutes, universities, other public sector research organisations, and the medical devices industry, to take local innovation to market.
- Increase the uptake of New South Wales (NSW) medical devices by the health system where they are cost effective and contribute to improved patient outcomes.

Grants between $200,000 and $5 million are available, depending on the product’s stage of development over a period of one year to three years.

A total funding pool of over $8 million is available in 2017-18.

The application process has three stages:
- Online self assessment (to be completed prior to completing preliminary application): Opened on 25 November 2015
- Preliminary application: Opened 6 March 2017 and closed 3 April 2017, 5pm
- Full application (by invitation only): Closed 29 May 2017

Eligible applicants must:
- Be a financially viable company or commercial enterprise with a current or proposed connection in NSW (eg. location of manufacturing jobs, headquarters based in NSW, NSW investment, new research lab established in NSW).
- Be able to provide evidence that the proposal connects and benefits NSW.
- Have an Australian Business Number (ABN).
- Typically have an annual turnover of less than $25 million.
- Be a legal entity or an individual who agrees to form such an entity so that NSW government can enter into legally binding funding agreements.
- A NSW public research organisation applying through their appropriate technology transfer office, or the CEO or equivalent of the research organisation.

Eligible Activities

Eligible activities include:
- Proof-of-concept, prototyping and piloting studies.
- Manufacturing samples for product trials.
- Conducting market and product assessments.
- Engaging a consultant to locate other national and international trials and research relevant to the product under development.
- Conducting clinical assessments.

Eligible projects must:
- Be capable of potentially improving patient care and/or health wellbeing.
- Be capable of potentially generating, economic, social and/or environmental benefits to NSW.
- Satisfy the definition of a medical device.
- Seek to progress a medical device along the commercialisation pathway.
- Be innovative (i.e. new to market, or new to world).
- Have the potential to assist health delivery in NSW.
- Have been developed in NSW and derive health, economic, social and/or environmental benefit to NSW.

The program will have sufficient flexibility to tailor funding support according to what it believe is required to assist the development and commercialisation of a medical device.

Main Assessment Criteria

The main assessment criteria include the extent to which the application meets the following:
1. Applicant
- A NSW-based organisation supportive of the technology applying for funding.
- The organisation’s interest/involvement in the opportunity must have initially been derived from the activities of their researcher(s)/employee(s).
- The organisation must benefit from the MDF investing in the opportunity. However, the benefit need not be financial.
- The organisation researcher(s)/employee(s) to have some ongoing role in the development of the technology.
- The organisation will derive financial benefit if the technology is commercialised.
- The organisation receiving some of the funding to complete project activities.
- The organisation will gain recognition/kudos if the technology is commercialised and will benefit from publications relating to the work to be funded.

2. Project
- Demonstrate the potential State, national and/or international significance of the medical device and show how it will improve people’s health and well-being.
- Demonstrate how the medical device will potentially deliver economic, social and/or environmental benefits for NSW.
- Demonstrate how the medical device will result in improved:
a) Clinical outcomes
b) Practice efficiency or effectiveness
c) Ease of use
d) Quality
e) Safety